Dare to Defy
by Ryan Zyquop
Summary: In 191, at the battle of Hu Lao Gate, Dong Zhuo's army won & shortly after, Dong Zhuo became the Emperor, thus ending the legendary Han era. Eight years later, nothing has seemed to change from his prior power as Grand General: Heavy Taxes, strict rules & women kidnapped. No one can really do anything about it since his army & generals are powerful but who said they were all loyal?
1. Chapter 1-Eight Years Ago Sneak Attack 1

Hey Ryan Zyquop here with another story. This idea came to me as I was developing a personality for my personal Dynasty Warriors character, Lu Yan. I hope you all enjoy it!

**Chapter 1-Eight Years Ago; Sneak Attack Part 1**

_Eight years ago: _Fire lit the dark night skies. Screams of women, children & dying men filled the air. Villages were burned, horses & other animals were left for dead on the grounds & gates were brought down. Spears & other weapons laid on the cold ground, some with blood & others in brand new condition. Despite it being a chilly -3 degrees, the snow that was on the ground was quickly being melted away by the towering flames around them. The men that fought these battles were exhausted, scarred & completely out of shape. Most were at least...

"Humph, is that really all they have?" a sharp voice spat from the doorway to a destroyed gate.

The man stood nearly seven feet tall & stood tall, wearing mostly all black armor. He wore a helmet that had two, thick fuzzy string like antennas that almost went all the way down to the ground. He let out a scoff before he slammed the tail of his halberd onto the cold gravel with his left hand. He looked on into the distance at the fleeing troops, his wild eyebrows in an anger stance on his forehead. He was breathing violently & his face wore a scary mug. Next to him stood an even larger figure: A bright red stallion. The eyes of it were filled with as much anger as the man who owned it. The man held onto a string from the mouth of the horse, keeping it from moving.

"Ah, Lord Lu Bu!" a voice shouted from behind.

Before he could turn around, he heard footsteps grow quiet next to his left side.

"Humph, you want?" Lu Bu asked his eyes now fixed on the man next to him.

"I see you've run off the last of the rebels. Well done."

Lu Bu smirked. "Hua Xiong, did you really think that unorganized mob of rebels would even stand a slight chance against me?"

"Ha, that ignorance never crossed my mind." Hua Xiong's face grew a grin. "I came out here on orders of Dong Zhuo. He told me to tell you that when you're finished with the massacre to come back to the castle. There is going to be a splendid feast!"

Lu Bu's looked at his red hare. "Looks like you're going back into your stable."

Lu Bu & Hua Xiong walked through the halls of the castle. There were random people walking & running by, laughing & having conversations. Most of them stopped & bowed when Hua Xiong & Lu Bu walked by.

"So how many fools did you kill today?" Hua Xiong asked Lu Bu.

"Uhmm, I don't know." Lu Bu began scratching the back of his head. "I don't keep tally with the number of people I kill."

"Well, you'll be proud to know that I personally slaughtered 204 men tonight."

Lu Bu's left eyebrow rose. "Impressive. I didn't know someone could kill that many people in a night not named me."

Hua Xiong began chuckling. "You may be stronger & mightier than I but I'm right up there for second place."

"That I won't argue with."

Lu Bu & Hua Xiong reached the main diner hall & entered it. Once they were inside, the smell of fresh meat, delicious fruit & wine flew up their noses. The room was lit up brightly by the candles on tables & music was being played by the musicians in the room. There were several women dancing around, but that's to be expected when you're partying with Dong Zhuo. You could also here the laughter & the enjoyment of the troops in the room over the music at times. They saw Dong Zhuo sitting at the head of the table, his arm around one lady while another one was fanning him. He was also drinking some wine & he seemed to be having a wonderful time. He looked up & saw his adopted son, Lu Bu. His face immediately lit up with joy.

"Lu Bu! Come on over here!" he shouted in joy.

Lu Bu began making his way over to his father/ruler. It was a slow process, him having to shove by some people to get by but he made it over to Dong Zhuo.

"My son! You were an unstoppable animal out there!" Dong Zhuo stated as he got up & hugged him.

Lu Bu hugged him back, his face wearing a smile as well. "I am the mightiest warrior in the land. As long as I'm here, you won't need to worry about anything."

"I am glad to know that I have your eternal loyalty." Dong Zhuo reached onto the table & handed Lu Bu a cup filled with wine. "Come spend the night with me & these fine ladies!"

Dong Zhuo began tickling under one of the women's necks. Lu Bu took a sip from the wine before he placed the cup back onto the table.

"I'll be back to party with you in a minute. I have to go check on my child."

Lu Bu pushed back a sheet in a doorway & entered a dark room. If it wasn't for the flames burning in the distance, the room would have been completely dark. Lu Bu looked around for a bit before he saw someone standing on the ledge, looking at the burning city in the distance. Lu Bu began walking towards the short person on the ledge.

"What's on your mind child?" Lu Bu asked once he joined his child's side.

The kid looked up at his dad, an unsure look on his face. His hair was dark brown & short, only a little on the top & the sides. His eyes were a cold brown color & he had decent looking eyebrows as opposed to his father's wild ones. He wore a light cloth wrap around his waist, showing off his well-toned stomach. Under the cloth on his waist he wore armored pants that were black & went all the way down to his ankles, which were covered by low boots that were silver & armored in a similar pattern that matched his pants.

"These wars...the more we battle, the more moving we have to do. It's fatiguing to me," he told his dad.

Lu Bu smiled down at his son. "You need not worry Lu Yan...this war may be the last one you'll see in a while."

Lu Yan looked back to the flaming city. "You don't have to beat around the bush with me dad. I know a lot of people hate grandfather & they won't stop until either he's dead or they're dead."

Lu Bu looked forward as well. "That may be true but why does it bother you so much? I've raised you to be a fine warrior in the future. You should love these experiences. You get to watch & learn before you're sent to take some heads."

"I don't necessarily have a problem with battling others...I just want to be happy."

Lu Bu snickered a bit. "Son, you are merely thirteen years old. You'll have plenty of time to worry about happiness. You need to have a stronger mind than you have right now. You know Dong Zhuo is going to make you happy as long as I'm around. He'd know better than to anger my kin."

Lu Yan looked over at his dad. "I know he'll take care of me but that's not my concern...I'm worried about everyone else. The leaders of the other provinces being taxed. I'm sure he may have a reason now since they were crazy enough to come down here & attempt to kill him but why did he heavily tax them in the first place?"

"Lu Yan, you need to get those weak thoughts out of your head. Sure, Dong Zhuo can make some happy but no one can make everyone happy. Only the strong will survive in this world & since that's how it is, shouldn't we only make sure the strong survive?"

"Then what happens? The weak fall of the face of the Earth & only the strong remain. Who'll do the weapon polishing, tend to the fields & do all the things we have the peasants do?"

Lu Bu looked back to the city. "Don't worry about it Lu Yan. I'll make you a strong warrior...a warrior who'll be the 'me' of his era."

Lu Yan nodded. "Yes father."

The cold air & snow filled up the air in the camp of the coalition army. The leaders were sitting in disappointment, most notably, Cao Cao. He sat alone in the corner of the camp, looking at his comrades in the camp. Outside, he looked calm & able to accept the defeat he was handed. But inside, he was destroyed. He was screaming, kicking things over & tearing out his hair. This was his second & greatest attempt to dethrone the tyrant, Dong Zhuo & it blew up right in his face. He looked to his left & saw Guan Yu & Zhang Fei carrying Liu Bei back into the camp. Very curious, he jumped up & powerwalked to them.

"What happened to him?" he asked once he was over there.

Guan Yu, after placing him down, looked up at Cao Cao. "Our brother was pierced by Lu Bu's halberd in the lower area of his chest & now he's in & out of consciousness."

Zhang Fei tore the armor from his sworn brother's chest, revealing a nasty & large stab wound right under one of his lungs. Thankfully, he was still breathing.

"Oh brother!" Zhang Fei exclaimed as he buried his face into his brother's chest. "I promise to make that bastard pay!"

Cao Cao observed the wound, looking at every angle of it. "You two need not worry. I know some men that can clean & patch that right up."

Zhang Fei immediately raised his head & got right in Cao Cao's face. "Please...tell me you're not joking."

"Liu Bei was a brave man for even stepping toe-to-toe with the mighty Lu Bu. We need men with hearts & bravery like your brother's. I will be honored to help your brother for his valiant efforts." Cao Cao turned around & began walking to a large tent. "Bring your brother & he'll receive the proper treatment...on me."

Yuan Shao kicked over a chair & slapped a glass off the table. He was storming through the main meeting hall on a tear.

"Dammit!" he screamed as he ripped a curtain from a window.

Yuan Shu walked into the meeting hall wiping his eyes. "What's going on?" he groggily asked.

Yuan Shao spun around to face his relative. "What's wrong?! I'll tell you what's wrong! One, Dong Zhuo reinforcements from Chang An arrived & began a tear on our men! Secondly, despite my pleas, people pursued Lu Bu! And finally, with no regard for his own men, Dong Zhuo launched a large scale fire attack & his main army emerged, killing & frightening our men!"

Yuan Shu sat down in one of the few chairs that were still sitting up. "So I'm going to take that as...we lost the battle, right?"

Yuan Shao punched a mirror on the wall, shattering glass everywhere. "You cur! If you weren't lying on your ass in your tent sleeping you would know!"

"Oh I'm sorry commander! I was resting from a gruel stalemate duel I had with Li Jue before sundown! What's your excuse for being so mad? You sat on your ass in the camp since this campaign started! Who's head have you claimed?!"

"How dare you take that tone with me!" Yuan Shao began marching over to Yuan Shu. "I am the commander of this army! I am your leader! I am more superior then you in both power & the family tree!"

"Oh you really want to go there?! At least I know the Han is going to die, regardless of the outcome of this battle!"

"How dare you! The Han will never die!"

"Yes it will!"

"What's going on in here?" a voice said from the doorway.

Both men looked to the doorway to find Gongsun Zan standing there, holding his head. He looked beaten up from his battle earlier with Lu Bu.

"Oh...nothing!" Yuan Shao assured with sheepish laugh before he made his way back to the table in the room.

"Yeah don't worry about it. We're both just mad about the outcome of this battle," Yuan Shu added.

"Well I hate to sound like I'm the victim but if anyone has a reason to be mad it's me."

"How so?"

"Well first of all, my only daughter, Gongsun Sam, was kidnapped early yesterday morning. Then today I got the hell pounded out of me by Lu Bu & I literally HAD to be saved from death."

Yuan Shao snickered. "Okay, being mad about your daughter...I can understand, even though that little girl got on my nerves. But Lu Bu...I warned you not to even attempt to fight him."  
"So what was I supposed to do? He didn't look like he was going to say 'Oh hey buddy, you want to pass by Hu Lao Gate? Go ahead.'"

Yuan Shu burst out laughing. "'Hey if you don't want to fight me, I'll let you pass' seemed like it was going to escape his lips."

"Exactly! Did Yuan Shao really expect getting by Lu Bu to be possible?"

Yuan Shao sighed. "Let's just...forget this defeat. This never happened. We all need to fall back, get better & stronger guys to join us & come back." Both men nodded & Yuan Shao sat down in the chair at the head of the table. "Get the main generals in here. We need to discuss what's next."

_Present Time, 199, Late Summer:_ The sun sat high in the sky, burning bright down on the castle of Luo Yang. The exterior of the castle looked marvelous, the stone standing out with its dark gray, orange & bright red color scheme. It wasn't a busy day in Luo Yang today, most people getting a day off for a while. Only the main generals were in Luo Yang today, mostly because despite being the emperor finally, Dong Zhuo always had a phobia of being killed by surprise. The only guard that wasn't there today was Lu Bu, who was off with Diao Chan in secret. The castle was next to a beautiful plantation. A luscious forest was next to the castle, trees, flowers & bushes making up it. The forest was several hundred meters long & wide, making the castle a possibility for a perfect surprise attack, though no one feared it. The road to the forest was always guarded heavily, the nearby provinces & fiefs always having a lot of men watching for possible attacks & uprisings.

Deep in the forest was Lu Bu's son, Lu Yan. He was sitting down, his back against a tree. His dark brown hair was longer, some covering his eyes & the rest resting below his his ears & right at the back of his neck. He wore a black tank top & grey armored pants with low shoes on. Unlike his father, he wasn't a tall & intimidating figure. He stood at exactly 5'8. He was currently watching the animals in the forest & trying to get peace in his mind. Just when it seemed to be going well, he heard footsteps. He placed his hand on his katana, planning to remove it from its sheath. Slowly, he began getting to his feet. It was nearly impossible to get up quietly since grass was everywhere but Lu Yan managed to pull it off. His eyes began studying in front of him but he saw nothing. The footsteps were heard again, this time behind him. Lu Yan removed his katana, walked away from the tree & turned around.

"Whoever you are speak up before I'm forced to slice you open," he demanded.

"Oh will you relax?" a female voice said.

Lu Yan knew who it was & he put his katana away. Once he did, his friend/enemy appeared: Gongsun Sam. She had her long black hair down & she peered at Lu Yan with her blue eyes.

"You need to stop with this creeping up on me stuff," Lu Yan said before he walked back to his tree & sat back down.

"You chose to sit in a quiet forest so if you heard my footsteps not my problem. What are you doing?"

"Relaxing...I haven't been able to do so in days."

"Are you blaming me?"

"No, you I can deal with. It's just the work schedule that Dong Zhuo has made for me recently."

"Oh you don't say?! That little pig is trying to make me dance at parties for him now!"

"You're not even grown! How is he going to make a 17 year old dance for him? That's next to rape."

"Ask yourself...have any of the women Dong Zhuo have been with not been raped?"

Lu Yan snickered. "Good point."

Sam sat down by the tree with Lu Yan. "I kind of wish I never ran away from home. If I didn't, I wouldn't have to deal with this."

"Yeah but where do you think your father is at now? I highly doubt Dong Zhuo is handing him free sticks of gold to keep a place."

"My dad was a bitch anyways so I guess I'm screwed either way I look at it."

Lu Yan began laughing but not a lot. "Tell me...despite Dong Zhuo & his silly demands are you happy with this life?"

Sam sat still for a while, thinking about Lu Yan's question. She remembered all the destruction she saw over the last eight years. The burning castles, the dying people, the suffering of others. That was all bad stuff but at the end of the day, she got fed more food than she could eat, got everything she wanted & with an exception of her usual chores & work schedule, she was free to do whatever.

"I don't know. One moment it's all good but then..."

Before she could say anything else, the duo heard several footsteps. They both looked at each other & jumped to their feet.

"Were you followed by anyone?" Lu Yan whispered, pulling out his katana.

"No...those footsteps are hostile."

Sam removed her bow from her back & took an arrow from her quiver. They both walked away from the tree & stood back to back, anticipating the arrival of whoever was coming. Shortly, Sam saw a head pop out of a bush. Without even thinking of who it is, Sam fired the arrow right into the man's forehead. He let out a low cry in pain before he hit the ground.

"One down," she whispered to Lu Yan.

Lu Yan nodded & before he knew it he was faced with three people in front of him.

"Sam, company up front," Lu Yan announced, making Sam spin around & point an arrow at the guys in the bushes.

"Ah, there's Gongsun Sam!" one of the men declared.

"Hand over the daughter of Master Gongsun Zan or pay with your life!" another one added.

Sam put her bow down. "So let me get this straight...you idiots are his men?"

"You got one chance to get lost before you die unceremoniously," Lu Yan warned.

"Lady Sam, please come with us. Your father is really worried sick & was scared you died," one of the men said.

"I'm not going home to that egg headed bastard!" Sam yelled, making the men flinch back.

"We didn't want it to come to this but..."

One of the men lunged forward at the duo but instantly Lu Yan stabbed him in his stomach with his katana. He pierced the man so deep that the front of his blade came out of his back. The other two men leapt for Sam but one met an arrow to his knee. The other man took Sam down & pinned her to the ground. Knowing she was the daughter of Gongsun Zan & really dangerous, he made sure to pin her arms down.

"Don't resist!" the man shouted.

"Get your foul breath smelling ass off of me!" Sam yelled back.

Lu Yan ripped his katana from the dying man & turned to face Sam & the last guy living. Sam spat right in the man's eyes, which caused him to remove his hands from Sam's. With her hands now free, Sam slapped the man in his face. He flew off of her & rolled some distance into a nearby bush. Sam quickly got back to her feet.

"You alright?" Lu Yan asked as he joined her side.

Not saying a word, Sam snatched Lu Yan's katana from him, making him jump back a bit. She stormed over to the bush where the man was regaining his footing. He got all the way to his feet & before he could he do anything else, Sam stood before him. He opened his mouth to speak but before the words came out, Sam swung the katana for his neck, slicing his throat & removing his head from his body in the process.

"Dumb bastard," Sam said in disgust.

Lu Yan began looking around. "How many more do you think there are?" he asked now picking up Sam's bow.

"Don't know don't care...if they're stupid enough to come for me, I'll kill as many as I need to." Sam turned to look at Lu Yan. "Besides, what makes you think more came?"

"I'm all but certain these amateurs didn't think they had a chance against us. They seemed to be more of a distraction to me."

Sam began walking back to Lu Yan. "They could be but where would they be camping besides this forest?"

Dong Zhuo sat in his throne, drinking wine & reading a scroll. Next to him was Hua Xiong & Li Jue, talking to random soldiers about the necessary safety precautions should they need to defend against invaders. Dong Zhuo smirked as he read the scroll. It was stating that Zhang Lu was willing to surrender his fief of Han Zhong without a fight if he met certain conditions. Just then, a lone soldier rushed into the throne room. He stopped right at the red carpet on the floor & kneeled before the generals in the room.

"Your highness I bring urgent news! The forces of Gongsun Zan are advancing on Luo Yang for a fight!" he yelled.

Dong Zhuo instantly got to his feet. "Summon the royal guard at once! Hua Xiong & Li Jue, get the other soldiers ready for battle!"

There's chapter 1! It took me a while to write this chapter since I wanted to make it as long & storytelling as possible. I hope I accomplished that & gave you guys an idea of what's going on in the story. Also, big shout out to Madison Lockheart for submitting me her OC for this story early! I hope you enjoyed her appearance! If you want an OC in this story, submit it in the review section. Be sure to be descriptive about them, examples being usual clothes/armor, personality, army they're in & whether they are loyal or not. Note: If your OC is a part of Dong Zhuo army, let me know whether or not they'll turn on him & if you can think of or feel like it, give me a reason for their betrayal.

I haven't decided on a deadline for OCs so don't worry about it for now. I hope you all enjoyed it! I'll submit chapter two whenever I get the chance. Until then, I'm out! #writingismydrug


	2. Chapter 2-Sneak Attack Part 2

**Chapter 2- Sneak Attack Part 2**

Gongsun Zan sat in his tent hidden deep in the forest outside of Luo Yang, studying the map of the city. He was making sure this attack would go unnoticed & as painless as possible. So far, if everything went as planned, this attack would significantly weaken Dong Zhuo's main force & he would find his daughter. By now, his secondary unit should be in position to launch a long range bow & arrow attack onto the defenders of the castle. Just then, his tent opened & in came Gongsun Yue. He had his sword in his hand & gave his cousin a small smile.

"So far the attack we launched is mildly successful," he began. "The enemies that are defending the castle are panicking but there a few warriors that welcome this. They don't seem to be intimidated or frightened."

"It's just as I predicted." Gongsun Zan looked up from his map. "Dong Zhuo sent most of his guards away for a large portion of the day. All we have to do is cut down the important ones that are left & panic will definitely reach the level we want."

Yue smirked. "You truly are a brilliant one." Yue then walked to the doorway of the tent & froze. "I'm getting in this battle. I too would like to claim some glory."

"Do what you please but hurry. I predict this battle won't last much longer."

Lu Yan ran through the forest pushing several low tree branches out of his view. He knew those earlier guys were a distraction.

"Where are we going?" Sam asked him from behind.

"I don't really know yet but hopefully, if we're lucky, we'll find the other soldiers that came with them."

"Wait...you're running in a random ass direction because you think your theory is correct? What if you're wrong?"

"I didn't ask you to come did I? You can turn & run now if you want."

"Yeah okay, because I'm going to leave you to get killed."

Lu Yan scoffed. "As if...I am the son of..."

"I don't need you to repeat an obvious yet pointless point. Yes, you're the son of that animal but does that mean you inherited his strength?"

Lu Yan didn't answer that question. He already knew he was nowhere near the strength of his father, Lu Bu. He wouldn't give Sam the satisfaction of a good laugh at his expense.

"On the bright side, you've grown a brain bigger than his," Sam said.

Lu Yan snickered. "I suppose I'll thank you for that."

Then they heard galloping noises, making them freeze where they were. It sounded like an army of horses coming their way. Lu Yan ran behind a tree & Sam followed suit.

"I guess your theory was right," she whispered.

Lu Yan nodded. The horses sounded like they were getting closer with each gallop. Lu Yan was about to poke his head out to see what was going on but before he did, several horsemen zipped by them. They were clearly charging for the castle. Lu Yan & Sam managed to keep their mouths shut as they rode by. Once they passed, Lu Yan looked back at Sam.

"This is trouble. That was at least eight dozen men," he stated.

Sam looked in the direction the men were going. "So what are we going to do about it? Dong Zhuo is clearly their target, along with me."

"We have to protect Dong Zhuo." Lu Yan mimicked a fake vomit motion. "I can't believe I just said 'protect' & 'Dong Zhuo' in the same sentence."

"Agreed. Let's just leave him for dead in that castle."

Lu Yan shook his head wildly in disbelief. "Sam, we can't just leave him like that."

"And why not? It's not like we're leaving our brother, lover or anyone important behind."

"He's the Emperor for goodness sake!"

"Hell if I care! You asked me if I was happy earlier & now I've decided!"

Lu Yan slapped his forehead. "Sam, I didn't ask you if you wanted to revolt. I just wanted your honest opinion on him."

"Okay, so you're admitting that you like serving him?"

"I didn't say that."

"Then stop being such a bitch. Don't you..?"

"I hear voices this way!" a voice shouted from nearby.

Lu Yan & Sam looked at each other with "Uh-oh" looks on their face. Lu Yan placed his hand on his katana & turned to the direction of the voices. He heard footsteps, but a lot more than the altercation earlier. Sam took a spare bow from her quiver & readied her bow.

"Ready when you are," she told Lu Yan.

Hua Xiong chopped down his eleventh man of the day in front of the castle's gate & looked to behead the next man in front of him. The soldier swung a long & uncoordinated strike with his sword at Hua Xiong that was easily avoided. Hua Xiong pierced the man's chest with his pike, instantly making him freeze in place & die.

"These men are pathetic!" Hua Xiong barked.

He ripped his pike from the man's chest & posed with his weapon. He looked back at Li Jue.

"This is either an unorganized mob or a pathetic militia," he announced.

Li Jue walked over to him with the remaining soldiers in the castle. "Yeah, I can see that looking at the bodies on the ground in front of you."

Hua Xiong smirked & turned to face the men. "We ready?"

Li Jue nodded. "We'll split into two units. You look like you're enjoying yourself, so I'll allow you to take the main road. Kill anyone in your way. My unit will take the secret passage to rendezvous with Lu Bu several miles away. Just hold them at bay until we return."

"Can do!" Hua Xiong took a few men from Li Jue. "Come on! It's killing time!"

Hua Xiong's men let out a loud battle cry & they all charged down the main walkway.

Lu Yan rolled backwards into a bush & before he regained his footing, he launched a large rock at the men he was battling. He hit two of them & scurried to his feet. Three other men ran at him, ready to kill him. Lu Yan jumped out of the bush & easily cut one down, removing his left leg. The other two swung their swords at Lu Yan's head but Lu Yan ducked quickly. Once the attack was avoided, he head butted one of them & elbowed the other one in the jaw. Both staggered back & now Lu Yan was ready to attack with his katana. He quickly struck one of them down. By now, the other man regained control of his body & rushed back to battle Lu Yan once more. However, almost instantly, Lu Yan removed his right arm from his body & then finally pierced him in his stomach, officially ending his life.

Sam knew she couldn't handle this amount of men with only a bow & arrow. She just stabbed a guy in the mouth with an arrow before she realized that about five others were looking to take her out. Sam left the arrow in the guy's mouth & decided to focus on the men who wanted her dead or captured. One guy swung his halberd at Sam. Sam, instead of dodging it, jumped into the air & landed on the halberd with her left foot. The men froze in awe & Sam knew this was her opportunity to make something happen. Sam flung her right hand at the guy who held the halberd, sending a dagger from under her gloves flying at the man's head. Once the dagger drilled through his head, Sam back flipped off the halberd & landed gracefully back onto the ground.

"So my dad wouldn't hesitate to have me killed by you mindless amateurs?" Sam scoffed in disgust.

One guy clearly heard enough & lunged at Sam, his spear in front of him. Once close enough, Sam bent over backwards, avoiding the attack. Before he could react, Sam grabbed the spear while she was still bent over & used it to flip herself in front of the guy. Sam kneed him in his stomach & took his spear. Finally, she used it to pierce his chest, fatally wounding him.

Dong Zhuo walked through the hallway of the castle to his diner hall. He had confidence in his army getting the job done so he found little reason to fuss over the battle. He wanted a delicious piece of ham right now. He pushed the doors to the room open & walked inside his beautiful room. He saw the long, golden table in the center & all the magnificent decorations on it. The walls were lined with creative paintings & fine wallpaper all the way throughout the room. However, all of that paled in comparison to the smell throughout the room. You could smell the dumplings being cooked & boy did they smell delicious. The ham for the most part though dominated the scent in the room. You could not only smell the fresh roasted scent of it but you could literally tell which seasonings were being used to add flavor to it. This smell just made Dong Zhuo's mouth water & now he was anxious to taste the ham.

After a couple of minutes of preparations, Dong Zhuo finally sat in front of a plate with ham, dumplings & a large glass of wine. Dong Zhuo's nose was going on a wild journey while his stomach demanded this deliciousness to get inside of him. Dong Zhuo cut a piece of ham loose from the main slab & placed it in his mouth. It tasted way better than he would have expected it to. He let out a loud moan in pleasure due to the ham. Finally, he had some "Me Time" to himself.

"I see you're enjoying yourself," a voice said entering the diner hall.

Dong Zhuo looked up to find one of his main strategists, Li Su. He grinned at him before he took a quick sip from his wine.

"Li Su...good to see you in the capital on your off day," Dong Zhuo said.

Li Su smirked & sat at the opposite end of the table. "I couldn't find anything interesting to do on my day off so I decided to come here & watch over you."

"You couldn't have chosen a better day than today." Dong Zhuo took another sip from his wine before he continued. "Apparently, an army is foolish enough to challenge my authority. I've sent Hua Xiong & Li Jue to repel them."

"Hmmm, what makes a small army think they stand a chance against a colossal sized army like yours?"

"Beats me."

Dong Zhuo finished his wine & went right back to town on his ham. Li Su leaned back in his chair & watched the emperor chow down on his meal.

"So, how do you think they knew?" Li Su asked after several seconds of silence.

"What do you mean?" Dong Zhuo responded, his mouth full of dumplings.

"I'm just saying...they wouldn't try us on any other day but ironically they decide to try this invasion on a day where most of us have the day off. I'm just a little suspicious."

Dong Zhuo thought about what he said while he munched on his food. He was a little skeptical about this. Li Su made a very valid point.

"So who do you think is the traitor?" Dong Zhuo asked looking up at Li Su.

Li Su shrugged his shoulders. "I couldn't begin to guess your highness. Whoever it is surely is a fool."

Dong Zhuo nodded in agreement. "I pity the fool when I find out who it is."

Right at that moment, the diner hall doors flew open & in entered some of Dong Zhuo's soldiers. There were around eight men, each of them wearing light armor. The sudden intrusion scared Dong Zhuo but after he realized it was his own men, he settled down.

"Don't ever barge into my diner hall like that again! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Dong Zhuo warned.

Li Su looked back at the men. "I'm sure you guys are all sorry so no need to open your mouth's with apologies." Then, Li Su looked at Dong Zhuo. "These deserters...how bold would they be to think they could pull this off? Pretty ballsy, wouldn't you say?"

Dong Zhuo slowly picked up his knife. "Where are you going with this Li Su?"

Li Su then burst into an uncontrollable laughter. Dong Zhuo looked at his strategist confused. Was he the traitor or was he trying to scare him? Before Dong Zhuo decided on the matter, the soldiers in the diner hall also began laughing. At that moment, Dong Zhuo realized what was going on.

"Let me ask you a question, Dong Zhuo..." Li Su rose to his feet & took a sword from one of his soldiers. "Without your lapdogs Lu Bu, Hua Xiong & Li Jue, how long do you think you'll last against an enemy?"

Dong Zhuo flung the knife he had directly at Li Su. Li Su quickly ducked his head & the knife hit one of the soldiers in his shoulder. Dong Zhuo immediately ran for the kitchen & Li Su & his men gave pursuit. Dong Zhuo blasted through the door & into the kitchen. He jumped over a long, silver tray & almost knocked over several women that were in there. Li Su & his men barged into the kitchen, there weapons exposed. The women saw them & started screaming loudly. Dong Zhuo ran into another room with food but it was a dead end. He spun around but froze instantly. Li Su & his men stood in the doorway, blocking off his exit. Dong Zhuo backed away into the wall.

"Li Su, think about what you're doing! You'll never get away with this!" Dong Zhuo warned.

"You're telling me to think about this?!" Li Su was now fuming. "You sure didn't give second thoughts to killing my cousin a month ago! You are an asshole for an emperor & we've been sick of you for years!"

Dong Zhuo looked at him in shock. "I've given you the title of one of my main strategist & I'm an asshole?! You are the most ungrateful bastard I have met in my life!"

"Enough talk! Men, show him the entrance to Hell!"

Li Su's men nodded & now they entered the room to corner their emperor. Dong Zhuo was terrified. His rule as an emperor...it was coming to a close right before his very eyes. Dong Zhuo's heart began pounding like it was ready to jump out of his chest. He was powerless.

"Unlike you, I'm not cold hearted," Li Su assured walking towards him. "If you have any last words, speak them now or die."

Dong Zhuo looked at Li Su. "What is it that you want Li Su? If you let me out of this, I'll give you whatever you want."

Li Su smirked. "I bet you will...too bad I have no desire for anything you can offer me."

Before anything else could happen a stray arrow flew into the room, hitting one of the men in the back of his neck. Everyone threw their attention to outside the room to find the women in the kitchen armed & running into the room. Li Su growled, angered by the delay from the soon to be inevitable. He pointed at one of his soldiers.

"Watch Dong Zhuo! We'll take care of this child's play," he said turning his attention to the women.

Lu Yan ripped through a man's torso with his katana & immediately used the back end of it to hit another man right between his eyes. He staggered back & before could react, Lu Yan decapitated him.

"Are you idiots done yet or do you all want to fall right here?" Lu Yan asked looking at the last of Gongsun Zan's men that were battling them.

"Never! Hand over the daughter to our lord & we'll let you live!" one of them stated.

Lu Yan shrugged his shoulders. "I gave you a chance to back out. Now, the rest is on you."

Lu Yan ran at the men, fearless of being outnumbered. Two ran to meet him halfway. Lu Yan swung his katana at one of them but missed by only a small margin. The other guy went for a low shot with his sword but Lu Yan used his other hand to raise his sheath to block the attack. Lu Yan then brought his katana back for the man's head but it was avoided. One of the men hit Lu Yan in his chest with a punch, sending him back several feet. Cocky, he ran at Lu Yan & swung a wild strike for his head.

"Idiot," Lu Yan mumbled as he avoided the attack.

Lu Yan then rose his katana straight up, slicing the man up the middle. He fell flat to the ground. Lu Yan then threw his katana at the other one but his attack was dodged & his sword got stuck into a nearby tree. The second man ran at Lu Yan, believing Lu Yan to be defenseless. Lu Yan raised his sheath, anxious for the man to come at him. Once the two were in combat range, the guy swung his sword at him but he was blocked by Lu Yan's sheath. They entered a deadlock but it didn't last long. Lu Yan grabbed onto the blade with his left hand & still held onto his sheath with his right. After a quick tug of war, he gave the guy a low kick to his inner thigh. From there, the sword was easily taken & Lu Yan cut the man down. He looked over to the final five.

"Okay seriously, I have nothing to gain from killing you rookies!" Lu Yan yelled before he walked over to the tree to get his katana back.

He grabbed it & placed his sheath back to his side. Now, he had the man's sword & his katana in his possession. Lu Yan looked over at the men & he could clearly see fear in their eyes. Just then, Sam made her way to his side. She held a spear that was drenched in blood.

"I was going to ask if you were okay but I can see that you are judging by the way the situation looks," Sam said.

Lu Yan looked over at her. "I see you took care of business rather quickly."

"What, did you expect me to struggle against these chumps?"

"Not at all." Lu Yan looked back to the final five men. "What do you say we show these fools an early grave?"

Sam shrugged her shoulders. "Why not? I think they earned it."

Hua Xiong ran down the pathway to the garrison, followed by his loyal men. So far, he had little action. He's only killed twenty-one men today which is far from satisfaction. He saw a few horsemen that looked hostile coming his way & he eagerly wanted to get to them. He sped up his pace. The horsemen saw he wasn't scared so they readied their weapons. The groups were finally close enough for combat. The men pointed their spears straight at him, ready to pierce him. Hua Xiong raised his pike, catching the two front spears between two holes in his pike. Hua Xiong kept bull rushing, completely overpowering the men & removing them from their steeds. Hua Xiong then swung his pike at a man on his right, knocking him from his stallion & high jacking the horse at the same time. Now on a steed, he cut down the man next to him & steered the stallion out of the pack. Hua Xiong saw the rest of his men bravely fighting the men. This put a smile on his face.

"Don't leave any left standing!" Hua Xiong ordered.

Hua Xiong charged back into the fray, cutting down two men with one strike. He threw his pike at a nearby one he was charging at, piercing him. Before the man fell from the horse, Hua Xiong grabbed his pike back.

"Twenty-eight," he said to himself.

Li Jue sprinted out of the forest with his men, now into the clear. He saw three small garrisons in front of him. He knew Lu Bu wasn't in any of them so he decided to run through the middle one which led to the city.

"This way!" Li Jue ordered. Everyone ran after Li Jue.

Lu Bu sat under a tree, resting himself. He had his eyes closed with his mind empty. Next to him was his famed Sky Piercer & a few feet away, his horse, red hare, was feeding on the plentiful grass around. He just finished visiting Diao Chan, who just went back to her small home with her father. He wanted to spend the whole day with her but her father had important things he needed to discuss with her in private. So now, he was going to be spending the rest of his day alone it seemed. What a day off, his mind said. Before he could empty his mind all over again, he heard a pack of footsteps approaching from behind. He opened his eyes & looked over his shoulder. He saw several men coming his way but judging by the color of their clothes, they were friendlies. Lu Bu sighed. Probably a bunch of people enjoying their day off, his mind said. Lu Bu reclosed his eyes, took a deep breath & tried again to get some rest. It was going well until the footsteps stopped in front of him. Lu Bu opened one eye & he saw Li Jue with some soldiers standing before him.

"You come to annoy me?" Lu Bu asked with a smirk to assure Li Jue he was joking.

"Haha that'll have to be another time master Lu Bu. We need you back at the castle."

"What for?"

"Enemy forces have launched an attack there. Hua Xiong & I are taking care of the problems on the field but we need you to watch the emperor."

Lu Bu opened both of his eyes & looked at Li Jue confused. "So why not have my son handle it?"

"Well he disappeared before the attack began with Sam so we don't know where he'd be."

Lu Bu grunted & began getting to his feet. "I suppose I have nothing better to do." Lu Bu picked up his Sky Piercer. "You lot hold off the enemies. I'll ride back to check on Dong Zhuo."

Chapter 2 is in the books! I hope everyone enjoyed it! I'll see you all in chapter 3! #writingismydrug


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